On Tuesday, US District Judge R. David Proctor ruled in an injunction that part of Alabama’s voter suppression law SB1—state legislation that made it a felony to assist disabled people in requesting and filling absentee ballots—was an unenforceable violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. The rest of SB1, which nominally targets the practice of “ballot harvesting,” will remain intact for the time being. SB1, which was enacted in March, prohibited “any person fromordering, requesting, collecting, prefilling, obtaining, or delivering an absentee ballot application or absentee ballot of a voter.” The law also established criminal penalties for people who assisted others with absentee voting. In April, the Alabama NAACP, the state chapter of the League of Women Voters , Greater Birmingham Ministries, and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program sued Alabama Attorney General William Adair and other state government officials, asking for an injunction. As their lawsuit points out, the US Code explicitly protects people’s rights to receive assistance while voting: Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice, other than the voter’s employer or agent of that employer or officer or agent of the voter’s union. In his opinion, Proctor acknowledged that SB1 disproportionately affected disabled and low literacy voters: “SB 1 unduly burdens the rights of Section 208 voters to make a choice about who may assist them in obtaining and returning an absentee ballot,” the judge wrote. In a statement released after Proctor’s decision, the plaintiffs celebrated the injunction as a positive step in upholding democracy. We’re glad that the district court has sided with the rights of the voters and is committed to promoting voting accessibility.

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BING NEWS:
  • Federal Court Blocks Part of Alabama Voter Suppression Law
    David Proctor ruled in an injunction that part of Alabama’s voter suppression law SB1—state legislation that made it a felony to assist disabled people in requesting and filling absentee ballots—was ...
    09/25/2024 - 5:58 am | View Link
  • Federal judge blocks portion of Alabama law criminalizing some absentee ballot assistance
    A federal judge Tuesday blocked a portion of Alabama’s law criminalizing some forms of ballot assistance, saying it burdened blind, disabled and illiterate voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act ...
    09/25/2024 - 3:23 am | View Link
  • Opinion | Alabama’s battle against the ballot
    The dangerous logic behind Alabama’s continued assault on voting rights is rooted in fear: fear of losing power, fear of a changing electorate, fear that democracy might actually work for the people ...
    09/25/2024 - 1:54 am | View Link
  • Federal court blocks SB 1, protects voting access for disabled voters
    Ruling prohibits Alabama from restricting assistance for disabled, blind, and low-literacy voters in 2024 election.
    09/25/2024 - 1:42 am | View Link
  • Federal judge blocks enforcement of state ballot harvesting law provision targeting help for disabled voters
    Those who help disabled Alabama voters fill out or submit absentee ballots can do so without threat of prosecution following a preliminary injunction.
    09/24/2024 - 5:46 pm | View Link
  • More

 

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